Utilities are increasingly using networked meters to reduce meter-reading costs and to monitor user consumption in real-time. Because of the relatively long life of meters (e.g., 20 years or longer), the cost of “retrofitting” or replacing various system components used to meter utility usage at each consumer location often leads to various generations of meters being used across the utility metering system. The various generations of metering systems often leads to upgrade problems and/or inefficiencies in the interoperation of the meters.